Pregnant Guppy Problems

[Guppyz]

I recently bought 3 new guppies. 1 male and 2 females. The 2 females were already pregnant when I bought them. One was slightly biger than the other and I estimated about 1-2 weeks before her birth. The three of them swam peacfully for the first day and a half I had them. I woke up on the third day to find the larger female dead. What may have gone wrong? My water levals are fairly good (a bit low in alkaline). I haven't noticed anything wrong with the other two and there were no physical symptoms on her body (other than some gravid spot fading). Before she died she refused to eat, hid behind the filter and her gravid spots faded almost completely and turned slightly pinkish. My male is rather peaceful and doesn't bully the females. My other female is rather small and by looking at he stomach I expect her to deliver in 2-3 weeks. But her gravid spots are dark and show through her dark body, also she has that box shape that they get late in their pregnancy. Could she be ready to deliver sooner than I thought? She also sits at the bottom of the tank and after loosing the first female I am worried about loosing the second. Is the "resting" normal?

 

[chrisso]

i have been breeding my guppies for several months now and have had many batches of fry,

im not sure about death but stress is very normal, especially during pregnancy introducing them into a new tank.
Sometimes stress effects her having birth and they are known to abbort their pregnancy therefore possibly causing death.

I find that when my gupps are ready to drop the do act like loners, they will hide near the filter or sit at the bottom of the tank because they do not have the energy to keep swimming away from the frisky males.

I am only new to this forum and i have been reading up their are many knowladgeable members on here who will also give you some advice just like i have i hope for the best with the rest of your gupps

 

[fluttermoth]

Was your tank cycled before you added fish, OP? And when you say your water levels are 'fairly good' what are the actual numbers of the test results?

The 'resting' on the bottom is not normal; guppies naturally stay around the upper levels of the tank. Do you have enough plant cover in there? Fish do like to have some privacy for giving birth.

 

[Guppyz]

Was your tank cycled before you added fish, OP? And when you say your water levels are 'fairly good' what are the actual numbers of the test results?

The 'resting' on the bottom is not normal; guppies naturally stay around the upper levels of the tank. Do you have enough plant cover in there? Fish do like to have some privacy for giving birth.

The readings were all "safe". I used a tetra test. The only result whch was not in the "normal" range was the alkaline leval which read to be "low". I was also not able to test for amonia and I am worried that the amonia levels my be affecting the fish. as for the cycling I am new to this and I am unsure on how to do this. Also, yes. I did alot of reaserch before getting the guppies and so I put plants in. I also densely covered one corner with plants because I read that the females will look for a safe place to give birth. I also bught some of the baby grass that is recomended for guppy tanks. I am going to put this in today. She is still "resting". But when she swims around she looks perfectly fine but she has been hanging around the filter which is what the other female did before her death. Thank for the responses! This is really helping!

 

[Guppyz]

i have been breeding my guppies for several months now and have had many batches of fry,

im not sure about death but stress is very normal, especially during pregnancy introducing them into a new tank.
Sometimes stress effects her having birth and they are known to abbort their pregnancy therefore possibly causing death.

I find that when my gupps are ready to drop the do act like loners, they will hide near the filter or sit at the bottom of the tank because they do not have the energy to keep swimming away from the frisky males.

I am only new to this forum and i have been reading up their are many knowladgeable members on here who will also give you some advice just like i have i hope for the best with the rest of your gupps

Thanks for the response! And what you said about the guppies being loners, hiding by the filter and sitting at the bottom: My female has been doing thatorthe last day. I catch her swimming around but she spends alot of time sitting. And she doesnt go by the plants I put in for the purpose of the females finding a safe place to drop. She sits in the open. She is also "breathing" heavy and she doesnt look like she is ready. He gravid spots are rather dark and large but her body is small. Do you think she is going to drop? My friend has a guppy about to drop and she looks like she may explode. As I mentioned she is boxed out in her back so when I looked at her when I first put her in my tank I was curious as to when she was due. I am really thankful for the responses!

 

[Guppyz]

I bought 4 new gupies (3 females and 1 male) and had my water tested. The water is fine and they new ones are socializing fine with my male. I also added a floating plant which my sickly female likes to sit on. Also she has been hanging around the plant. She barely swims now and is makeing very heavy and quick motions with her gills. Im very worried and dont want to loose another expecting female. The other fish dont bug her so Im not worried about that. It just tears my heart to have to see her struggle like this. Her gravid spots are still there but she looks so frail. When she does swim it is in an awkward wobbly motion.

p.s. the three new females are pregnant (the store I go to usually has good quality fish but they keep their male and females together.

 

[fluttermoth]

It really would be best if you could get your self some proper liquid/test tube tests; even if it's just for ammonia that would help rather than the paper strips.

In the meantime, I'd do a 50% water change (warm, dechlorinated water, of course!) every other day until things pick up or you can get a test; the new extra fish will be putting a strain on the filter.

 

[Guppyz]

It really would be best if you could get your self some proper liquid/test tube tests; even if it's just for ammonia that would help rather than the paper strips.

In the meantime, I'd do a 50% water change (warm, dechlorinated water, of course!) every other day until things pick up or you can get a test; the new extra fish will be putting a strain on the filter.

Thanks for the tip! I bought a tank vacum that helps with quick water changes. Our town water supply is chlorine free and my tanks temp has stayed at 80 (f) for the last few days so I am not concerned about the temp. Should I put conditioner in the water? Anything else I should add or do to the water? I have a steril bucket to help me.

 

[Guppyz]

My struggling female just died. Now Ive got myself paranoid that the others are going to die too. Ive had my water tested at the store where I got them and ive tested myself as well. They said my water is perfectly fine for them to be in and that it should cause no harm. Im assuming that it was stress that killed my females. It might have been precnancy stress too because the male is perfectly fine. But now I have one of my other new fish just starting to sit at the bottom and "breath" heavy. Dont guppies usually swim at the top? Could it be a first day thing? I dont want to keep going through this everytime I replace one of the fish. Im not going to get my fish from the store I am going to. All their females are pre-pregnant and it is stressing me out. Does anyone know a good store? My friend told me not to go to petco. Is this true? The keep their genders seprate.

 

[This Old Spouse]

You need to get a liquid test so you can accurately test the water yourself. We don't know what "perfectly fine" means. If there is ANY trace of ammonia or nitrite in the water it's harmful to your fish.

I have a 29g tank full of male guppies and they swim all over the place. But they are very active, and if you have one that's just sitting at the bottom, you have a problem. You should do a good-sized water change now. Make sure you add dechlorinator to the water and that the temp of the fresh water closely matches the tank water. Gently rinse out the filter media in the tank water you remove to a bucket. Don't replace the filter media.

All Petco stores are not bad. Just most of them! Keep in mind that it's their goal to make money. Period. They generally hire people who are not necessarily fishkeepers. If you do buy fish there, make sure you take a look at all their tanks. Are they clean? Are there dead fish in them? Take a look around and make sure the conditions seem good, then make your decision.

Please keep us posted ...

 

[Guppyz]

You need to get a liquid test so you can accurately test the water yourself. We don't know what "perfectly fine" means. If there is ANY trace of ammonia or nitrite in the water it's harmful to your fish.

I have a 29g tank full of male guppies and they swim all over the place. But they are very active, and if you have one that's just sitting at the bottom, you have a problem. You should do a good-sized water change now. Make sure you add dechlorinator to the water and that the temp of the fresh water closely matches the tank water. Gently rinse out the filter media in the tank water you remove to a bucket. Don't replace the filter media.

All Petco stores are not bad. Just most of them! Keep in mind that it's their goal to make money. Period. They generally hire people who are not necessarily fishkeepers. If you do buy fish there, make sure you take a look at all their tanks. Are they clean? Are there dead fish in them? Take a look around and make sure the conditions seem good, then make your decision.

Please keep us posted ...

I'll do a water change first thing in the morning. It wont stress them out will it? Also should I add anything to the new water?

 

[Guppyz]

The guppies seem to be okay right now. They are swimmming together as a little fishy family. The new male is a bit nippy to the females but I dont think it is anything that would cause great stress to the females. On of the females is rather large (not with fry but in general). She swims at the bottom a bit but does not sit. the other one sits (has recently stoped) but both swim. When they swim its in a akward way.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Having ammonia or nitrite in the water will stress them out.

And yes, use dechlorinator, such as Stress Coat or Seachem Prime. They also help with other heavy metals that may be in your water, not just chlorine.

 

[fluttermoth]

Water changes do not stress fish; as TOS says, poor water is far, far worse. Many professional fish breeders do 50% or more every day!

The more water changes you do, the more likely you are to have happy, healthy fish; especially as you don't have any test kits.

 

[Guppyz]

Having ammonia or nitrite in the water will stress them out.

And yes, use dechlorinator, such as Stress Coat or Seachem Prime. They also help with other heavy metals that may be in your water, not just chlorine.

My tank is both ammonia and nitrite free! Im still going to do water changes to prevent this from happening to my other fishies. They seem to be fine but I am keeping a close eye on them. Thanks for the help!

Water changes do not stress fish; as TOS says, poor water is far, far worse. Many professional fish breeders do 50% or more every day!

The more water changes you do, the more likely you are to have happy, healthy fish; especially as you don't have any test kits.

Thanks!This helps!